Apparatus for holding a martial arts board and related methods

ABSTRACT

Fixtures are provided for holding one or more martial arts boards while resisting undesired contact with the holder&#39;s hands. A pair of fixtures will each have a manually engageable handle secured to a base and adjustable strap structure to receive at least one breakable or re-breakable board and intimately secure the same. The base is preferably fixedly secured to the handle with a portion of the adjustable strap therebetween. A related method is also disclosed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO A RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/636,270, filed Apr. 20, 2012 and incorporates the same herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to apparatus for manually holding a martial arts board during an effort to break the same by a martial artist and methods associated therewith.

2. Description of the Prior Art

In connection with the breaking of wooden boards or re-breakable boards made out of synthetic material in the context of martial art competition, training, practice or for recreational purposes, martial artists require another individual to hold the board or boards securely such that they can be broken by the martial artist with his hand, foot, arm, knee or other body parts used for striking. Frequently, however, the martial artist impacts the hands or one of more fingers of the holder, or the holder is injured by the edge of the board or the force from the board on the hands.

The force with which a martial artist must hit a board is very substantial or the board will not fracture. It is also important that the board be held in such a way that the impact blow applied by the martial artist will hit the grain oriented in the proper direction. The holder or holders of the board must be protected against direct impact by the martial artist to the hands of the holder, or injury resulting from the movement of the board or boards when it or they are broken.

Numerous prior art approaches have been known.

A number of prior art devices involve holders which are mechanical in nature, as contrasted with one or more individuals holding the board or boards to be broken.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,883,135 discloses a pair of boards which hold a single board which is to be broken by a karate chop.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,989 discloses a device for rigidly holding one or more boards which are to receive a blow from a martial artist. Angular positioning of the board is said to be provided by the device.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,572,504 discloses a holder for breakable karate boards having a vertical support and upper and lower frame members for holding a karate board therebetween in a vertical position.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,207,928 discloses a multi-station device for holding practice boards with different board orientations.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,334 discloses a martial art board securing device which is said to provide enhanced safety by resisting the user being injured by broken board pieces. See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,491,316 and 4,093,212.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,803 discloses a device which involves two people each holding one clamp member by a strap with a strip to be broken extending therebetween. This is said to minimize risk of injury of the holders as it is clear where the fracture will occur.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,730 provides a martial arts practice device which involves breakage of small, less costly slats. A pair of hinged parts are provided with laterally projecting handles on the outside of the impact area.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,096,535 discloses a pair of rearwardly projecting handles structured to be manually engaged by the board holder with direct securement to the lateral edges. It provides rigid connection between the board and the handles with the board remaining in the holder, thereby increasing the likelihood of injury to the “practitioner” who is doing the breaking.

In spite of the foregoing disclosures, there remains a very real and substantial need for apparatus and method for allowing one or more individuals to effectively and safely hold one or more boards which are to be broken by a martial artist, while providing the martial artist with the maximum benefit of the board securement with reduced risk to the both the holders and the martial artist.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has met the above-described need by providing a pair of fixtures which each have a manually engageable handle secured to a base and an adjustable strap structured to receive at least one board and secure the same to the fixture in intimate relationship therewith. The handles, which are preferably positioned at opposite ends of the board, permit the holders to firmly secure the board without having the holders' hands or other body portions exposed to the front or impact face of the board which will be struck by the martial artist, thereby minimizing the risk of injury to the holder or holders. The adjustable strap preferably has a portion interposed and firmly held between the handle and the base. The adjustable strap preferably has portions which contain male and female hook and loop fasteners, such as those sold under the designation “Velcro”, to facilitate effective securement of the fixture to the board in intimate relationship therewith.

The base may be secured to the handle through mechanical fasteners, such as appropriately sized screws or adhesive or other suitable means known to those skilled in the art.

In one embodiment, the face of the base which contacts the rear surface of the board has enhanced friction properties to reduce relative movement therebetween.

An associated method of assembling the fixtures and board or boards with subsequent impact from the martial artist is also provided.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an efficient, mechanically effective structure and related method for securing one or more boards to be broken by a martial artist, while resisting injury to the holder or holders.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide such a system wherein the fixture has a substantially rigid base secured to a handle with a portion of an adjustable strap secured therebetween, such that the base and handle will project rearwardly away from the rear face of the board or boards to be broken.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a system wherein the straps which secure the board to the other portions of the fixture are continuously adjustable so as to provide for a maximum securement of the board.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such board holder fixtures which may be employed with boards made of various materials, such as wood or plastic, for example.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such a board holder which may readily and rapidly be intimately secured to the board and removed from the board and related methods.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide apparatus for board securement which may be employed re-breakable boards.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such fixture securement of boards which readily permits the board to be in the desired orientation so that the martial artist can break the board with the grain.

These and other objects of the invention will be more fully understood from the description of the invention on reference to the illustrations appended hereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a board secured within a pair of fixtures of the present invention showing the front or impact face of the board.

FIG. 2 is a right side elevation of the board and fixture assembly of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a left side elevational view of the board and fixture assembly of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4, is a rear elevational view of the fixture and board assembly of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the fixture and board assembly shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the fixture and board assembly shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 shows a front elevational view of a clip, such as clips 40 and 42, through which the straps, respectively, 6,8 pass and are secured.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional illustration of the strap receiving clip of FIG. 7 with a portion of a strap anchored thereto and another portion of the strap passing therethrough.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a board and fixture assembly of the present invention as employed with a re-breakable board.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a base and a portion of an adjustable strap employable in a fixture of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an exploded view showing the handle, an interposed strap portion and a base securable with mechanical fasteners.

FIG. 12 shows a top plan view of a pair of fixtures of the present invention securing two boards.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As employed herein, the word “board” means a board which is sized and structured to be broken by a martial artist and shall expressly include such boards made of wood, wood composites, plastic, as well as boards which are permanently broken during use and re-breakable boards which are capable of reassembly and re-use.

Boards for use in martial arts would typically be made of wood such as pine or another suitable wood. The board will typically have a generally rectangular configuration having a length of about 10 to 12 inches, a width of about 11 to 12 inches and a thickness of about ½ to 1 inch.

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 6, there is shown a wood board 2 having a grain running in the direction of dashed line A and a pair of adjustable straps 6,8 with are part of a fixture which retains the board for purposes of having a holder secure the same for desired breaking impact by the martial artist. For convenience of description herein, the front or impact face of the board 2 will be referred to as face 10. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, there is shown the board 2 with front or impact face 10 and the rear face 14. A base 20 has its face 22 in surface-to-surface engagement with rear face 14 of board 2. Handles 26,27 which define openings 28,29, respectively, for receiving the hand of the holder are secured to the base 20 in a manner which will be described hereinafter. The handles 26,27 may be made from any suitable material, such as a molded resin, such as nylon, ABS or a suitable thermoset or thermoplastic resin or metal.

The straps 6,8 are preferably substantially non-extendable so as to facilitate intimate securement of the board 2. Strap 6 cooperates with a clip 40 to permit the strap to be adjusted. Similarly, strap 8 is operatively associated with clip 42.

Strap 8 is operatively associated with handle 27 which has opening 29. Portion 33 of strap 8 is interposed between the handle 27 and board 22. Handle 26 and board 20 are associated with strap 6 and have strap portion 32 secured therebetween the screws.

It will be appreciated in a manner to be described hereinafter by tightening the straps 68 around the board, these fixtures provide for intimate securement of the same with the impact face or front face being fully exposed at whatever angle the holder holds the assembly, while the manual grasping of the handles 26,27 places the holder's hands out of harms way.

The clip shown in FIG. 7, which for purposes of example, may be considered clip 40, provides an elongated opening 41. Referring to the cross sectional illustration of FIG. 8, there is shown a portion of strap 6 with a section clamped between a lower handle portion 26 and board 20. This portion of strap 6 is permanently secured about the clip 40. As the strap 6 extends to the right in FIG. 8, it will pass over the end of board 20 (not shown in this view) and extend around the lower portion of clip 40 so as to permit free movement through the opening 41 for ultimate intimate securement to the board by means of the preferred hook and loop fasteners built into the straps 6,8.

Referring to FIG. 9, there is shown a perspective of a re-breakable board 50 which has two sections 52,54 separated by a seam 56 where the two sections 52,54 are structured to separate upon an appropriate impact being applied. The straps 60,62 each have a base and handle with only base 64 and 66 being shown in this view, it being understood that a similar base and handle will be shown in the other view. Board 50 has an edge 65. Behind board 50 are boards 68,69.

It will be appreciated that in all embodiments the base is substantially rigid and may consist of a board of wood or plastic which will facilitate intimate securement of the board to be broken.

As shown by way of example in FIG. 10, the strap 70 is secured to the base 72 and has both loop sector 74 and hook sector 76 such that when the strap is pulled intimately over the board or boards, effective securement of the boards may be obtained by joining the loop and hook portions at the precise location which achieves the intimacy of securement.

Referring to FIG. 11, there is shown an exploded view of a form of use of mechanical fasteners to secure a handle 80 to a base 82 with an interposed strap portion 84. A pair of countersunk holes 86,88 are structured to receive, respectively, fasteners 90,92 which in the form shown extend through the board through the segment of strap 84 and into the lower portions of handle 80 to thereby effect secure joinder of the same.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the lower surface of the board 94 will have secured to it a friction enhancing surface which may be a separate member 96 or may have such a surface created on the board lower surface. In either event, this serves to facilitate intimacy of contact between the rear face of the board and the adjacent contacting surface of the base.

FIG. 12 shows a pair of fixtures, 100,102 of the present invention including, respectively, straps 104,106 and clips such as clip 108 facilitating retention of the strap while permitting the desired adjustability. In this embodiment, it is contemplated that a plurality of wood boards 106,108 would be secured by the fixtures. It will be appreciated that, if desired, more than two boards may be employed.

Whereas particular embodiments of the invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that numerous variations of the details may be made without departing from the invention as described in the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for holding a martial arts board to be fractured by a martial artist comprising a pair of fixtures each having a manually engageable handle secured to a base, and an adjustable strap structured to receive at least one said board and secure the same to said fixtures with said fixtures disposed on the opposite side of said at least one board from the surface which will be struck by the martial artist.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 including said fixtures each having said base fixedly secured to said handle.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 including said adjustable straps each having a portion interposed between a said handle and a said base.
 4. The apparatus of claim 2 including said fixtures each having said base secured to said handle by adhesive.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 including said fixture bases each having a friction enhancing surface on the side of said base opposite said handle.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1 including said fixtures adjustable straps having portions containing hook and loop fasteners, whereby when a board is secured within said closed loop, it will be retained in intimate contact therewith through engagement of the hook and loop portions of said adjustable straps.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1 including said fixtures having handles which are closed to resist contact between martial artists and the board holding individual.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1 including said board being a re-breakable board.
 9. The apparatus of claim 2 including said base secured to said handle by mechanical fasteners.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9 including said mechanical fasteners being screws.
 11. The apparatus for holding a martial arts board which is to be fractured by a martial artist comprising a pair of fixtures each having a manually engageable handle secured to a base and an adjustable strap structured to receive at least one said board and secure the same to said fixtures, said fixtures disposed in relatively spaced relationship with respect to each other, said board having a front face which will be hit by the martial artist and a rear face, and said fixture handles and base being in contact with the rear surface of said at least one board, whereby the hands of the holder when engaging said handles will be out of the path of movement of the martial artist when striking the board.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11 including said fixtures having said bases secured to said handles by mechanical fasteners.
 13. The apparatus of claim 11 including said fixtures having said bases secured to said handles by adhesives.
 14. The apparatus of claim 11 including said bases having a friction enhancing surface in contact with said rear surface of said board.
 15. The apparatus of claim 11 including said each adjustable strap having a portion secured between a said base and a said handle.
 16. The apparatus of claim 11 including said adjustable straps having portions which are hook and loop fasteners, whereby tightening to said adjustable strap around said at least one board will permit firm securement of the board to said fixtures while permitting subsequent removal of said board therefrom.
 17. The apparatus of claim 12 including said mechanical fasteners being screws.
 18. The method of manually holding a martial arts board during a martial artist's attempt to break the board comprising providing a pair of manually engageable fixtures each having a manually engageable handle secured to a base, and a pair of relatively spaced adjustable straps extending around said board to effect intimate securement of said board to said fixtures.
 19. The method of claim 18 including said base having a friction enhancing surface in contact with said rear surface of said board.
 20. The method of claim 18 including said board being a re-breakable board with a weakened connection between two components thereof.
 21. The method of claim 18 employing hook and look fasteners on said strap to facilitate securement of said straps in intimate contact with said board.
 22. The method of claim 18 including said handles being closed and so shaped that manual engagement thereof by the person holding said board will keep the individual's hands out of contact with the portion of the striking surface of said board. 